Would you classify mathematics, logic and music as languages? Justify your answer, considering the extent to which they resemble or differ from natural language and the role they play in the acquisition of knowledge. Language is best defined as something that is intended, creative and open-ended, and structured. Mathematics, logic, and music all fairly represent each of the requirements of language. Math, logic and music are all intended, creative, and open-ended. If spoken and written languages were considered to be “natural languages,” then it would be fair to consider these three to be “unnatural languages” due to their different nature.
While they may not resemble natural languages externally, these unnatural languages are actually very similar when discussed further. For example, many college students majoring in the field of engineering and mathematics often describe their computer programming classes as nearly identical to a foreign language class, not only in the way it is taught, but also because learning to communicate with a computer is similar to learning a hard, new language. A large debate about language is whether it is innate or not.
While it must be taught some, language must also be somewhat innate in order for children to have the ability to peak using grammar without having had formal instruction. However, it could be argued that not all of these have an inherent structure, nor are they able to actually convey any knowledge, which would deny that they are indeed languages. Contrarily, math clearly has a structure, whether it is on metric conversions to long division to trigonometry to calculus. Every part of math has a basic structure to it, like using formulas.
It is used everyday to discover new mathematical findings. Music also has a bit of a structure due to the necessity of actually being able to read sheet music in order to create sound. Music is often used to convey meaning and emotions as well, which gives it a form of structure in and of itself. Logic, on the other hand, could be mistaken for not having much of a structure, if one at all, which could cause some to believe that logic is not actually a language. While it is clear that logic can be used to express knowledge, many would disagree with it actually being considered a language.
Some think that while logic is a useful tool, it should only be considered as a part of reason, not language. However, in reviewing what was learned about logic, it can become clear that logic does actually have a structure. Due to the existence of logical fallacies, the overall subject of logic has boundaries, which could be considered to be a structure. Math is probably the easiest of the three to identify as a language. Contrarily, many think that since math can only be used to describe quantities, it must not be an actual language.
And while it cannot convey emotion, mathematics- when used in physics- can describe sound, motion, and color. Also, all that is required is simple understanding in order to be able to comprehend math. It Classification of Math, Logic, and Music as Language By charlady English but has a basic understanding of most Spanish conjugations and nouns, then that person would most likely be able to read a sentence in Spanish with little problem. Similarly, anyone that has a firm grasp on the basics of most math can interpret and understand Just about any equation, graph, or sequence.
Math also reflects on another way of knowing, reason, which only strengthens its classification as a language because of the amount of overlapping that occurs between the different ways of knowing. Music is a bit more complex to describe. The writing and reading part of music is undeniably language. Again, back to the Spanish example, if someone were to have a good understanding of how to read sheet music, then they would probably have little trouble singing a song based on its sheet music. It is similar to math because it uses symbols to convey an action to be performed, or in this case, a note to be sang for a certain count.
However, most musicians would agree that music itself is not a series of notes of a piece of paper, but rather an interpretation of said notes. Music conveys emotion where mathematics cannot, through the contrast of tones and the personal interpretation on that particular sound by the musician. Logic is the most debatable of all of these “unnatural” languages due to its heavy reliance on other forms of written and spoken language. Logic plays a large role in both mathematics and music as well. It can be also used as a filter through math, music, natural language.
In math, logic is used constantly when considering the outcomes of both simple and complex operations. For example, without logic, a simple addition problem such as adding four and six could equal twenty-two rather than ten. Logic also plays a role in music as well. In most music, the ending note matches the beginning note of the piece. However, when this does not happen the composer works to create a certain pattern in the notes using logical analysis. Also, the tones and rhythm a vocal musician uses can be Justified using logical scrutiny.
A certain rhythm matched with a certain tone can be used to get a particular reaction out of listeners. Although they are often not as simple to pick up as natural languages are, each of these “unnatural” languages can also be somewhat innate. However, it changes from person to person. For example, a violinist that plays in orchestras around the world has much more innate talent than a tone-deaf child hitting a can with sticks. The same applies to the other two. For example, Sherlock Holmes, though a fictional character, used deductive reasoning extraordinarily, deducing knowledge from the smallest of observations.
Holmes could not have only been taught such remarkable skill because logic comes from both innate and learned reasoning. Similarly, if you have two children that take the exact same math classes, with the exact same teacher, learning the exact same material, yet one of these children struggles while the other is a master at it, then clearly the capacity for mathematical application is higher in the kid who excels at it. Language is the one ay of knowing that is required in order for the other three to exist.
The main use for language is communication, but not all communication is language. Without the ability to communicate, humanity and culture would not have survived the thousands of years that they have been around. Part of the advancement of humanity and culture are the uses of mathematics, music, and logic to solve problems and answer language, so they must be considered languages. Also, these three unnatural languages must be somewhat innate, which provides us with knowledge not Just on these specific languages, but on the topic of language as a whole.
